It was revealed today that a recently appointed female minister in the new government of French President Emmanuel Macron is being investigated for rape.
A lady who cannot be identified for legal reasons has filed two accusations against Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, the 46-year-old secretary of state for development.
It comes after a string of sex scandals in the Macron government that have sparked claims that the president is too tolerant of major criminal allegations and refuses to fire individuals responsible.
According to a source at the Paris public prosecutor’s office, the most recent case involved Ms. Zacharopoulou’s time working as a gynecologist, the Marianne news site said on Wednesday.
According to the source, “two suspected acts of rape that were purportedly perpetrated in the suspect’s medical duties” have been the subject of an investigation.
The inquiry was started two days after the first complaint was made, on May 25, “to ascertain if the facts are likely to fall within the scope of criminality.” On June 16, a second complaint was submitted.
Ms. Zacharopoulou has already undergone a thorough questioning since investigating magistrates and a specialized police brigade are currently working on the investigation.
Before last Sunday’s devastating election results, which saw Mr. Macron lose his legislative majority, Ms. Zacharopoulou, a former MEP who was born in Greece, joined the French cabinet on May 20.
Ms. Zacharopoulou is seen as one of the most influential female politicians in Mr. Macron’s government, along with the new prime minister, Elisabeth Borne.
In 2015, Ms. Zacharopoulou rose to fame by promoting more public awareness of endometriosis alongside actress Julie Gayet, who wed former French president Francois Hollande this year.
Despite the allegations, she has continued to serve in the government, which oversees international partnerships and the Francophonie (countries that speak French in addition to development).
Ms. Zacharopoulou and none of her cabinet colleagues made an initial statement regarding the accusations.
Following allegations of rape from two women, Damien Abad, France’s Minister for Solidarity and Disabled People, is also the subject of intensive examination.
Both claim that Mr. Abad, 42, coerced them into having illicit intercourse with him in late 2010 and early 2011.
Two complaints were made to the police by one of the accusers in 2012 and 2017, but they were later closed with no further action taken.
Mr. Abad vehemently refutes the accusations, claiming that it would be physically impossible for him to commit rape due to his arthrogryposis, a disorder that affects the limbs.
Mr. Macron has continued to support Mr. Abad in the interim, claiming there was no justification to fire him due to unverified claims.
When he declined to fire his Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, despite allegations of rape against him in July 2020, Mr. Macron also stated his desire to serve as “guarantor of the assumption of innocence” and “not give in to emotion.”
The Paris public prosecutor’s office proposed that the case against Mr. Darmanin be terminated at the beginning of 2022 after concluding it without taking any further action.
Nicolas Hulot, Mr. Macron’s former Minister in charge of Energy Transition, experienced the same thing.
When Mr. Hulot was charged with sexual assault in 2018, the head of state refrained from dismissing him and instead urged against “an inquisition.”
Laurence Rossignol, a former minister for women’s rights, blasted Mr. Macron for failing to see that we cannot approach claims of sexual abuse by telling people to “go away, there is nothing to see, and I will stand my ground.”
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